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How to Fight Fat?
I’m sharing this startling obesity map following trends from 1985 to 2005 with my readers because I want to know what you think. Obesity is such a serious problem in America that it has turned into an epidemic. For me “skinny” or “beautiful” is not about the insane rail-thin standards we see in the press so often, it’s about being a healthy weight for the quality of life, pure and simple.
In my mind, there are many factors that cause people to become obese. Many of them are linked to emotional states, economic problems, level of education, and family upbringing. As a person who has struggled with weight gain my whole life, I’m curious to know what my readers and other bloggers think. What is your personal experience and how have you found ways to cope (or not). With drugs out there like Alli, will fighting fat be as easy as popping a pill? Is anti-fat medication really the way to go… Why do you think we have become the fattest nation and what can we do about it?
Calculate Your Body Mass Index (BMI)
The bottom line: Being overweight is dangerous to your health… so know what you’re up against. A BMI between 25-30 is overweight, above 30 is obese.
Further Reading
- Obesity Trends 1985-2005 (CDC)
- Obesity Among Children and Adolescents (CDC)
- Overweight and Obesity - The Facts (CDC)
- Alli, obesity drug (discussion on Corante with organic chemist Derek Lowe)
It’s simple math, the calories we consume and the calories our bodies do not burn off is stored as fat.
The next decision we can make are how to spend those calories. We should take charge of our decisions, and not let bombardments from everything we see make it for us.
A general simple rule is,if you want to be 135lbs. for a woman then multiply 135×10=1350 calories allowed per day, for a man if you want to be 189 multiply 189×10=1890 calories allowed per day. Choose foods that are good for you and have plenty of vitamins and are also delicious.
We choose the clothes we want to wear, we choose the car we want to drive, we choose where
we want to take our vacation! We should choose what is good for us when it comes to food.